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10Block Studio has recently submitted a Site Plan Approval application to the City of Toronto for the development of a new luxury condo tower located at 65 George Street in the city's Old Town area. The new application is a resubmission of a previous one, with only a few changes since the original from April of 2017. At that time, the developer submitted a Zoning By-law Amendment application to the City to accommodate the development of a Core Architects-designed 17-storey building at 65 George Street at the rear of a retained 4-storey heritage building at 187 King Street East. The proposal was and continues to be for just 16 residential units – one unit per floor – on 250m² floor plates.
In October of 2017, City Council refused the application, and in February of 2018 it was appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). At a hearing in June of 2020, the appeal was ratified by the what was then known as the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal following a settlement with the City, although the final order was withheld until certain conditions as directed by City Council and as agreed to by the Owner were satisfied.
In December, 2021 the Tribunal, now under the name Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT), ruled that they were "satisfied that the proposal is an appropriate form of infill intensification on an under-utilized site, which makes efficient use of land and transit. It sensitively balances heritage protection with new development and will assist in the fulfillment of provincial and municipal policies which speak to providing an appropriate range and mix of housing by providing large, family-sized residential units in the downtown area."
The recently submitted SPA provides materials to clear the conditions.
In the SPA submission, the building height has decreased from 71.62 metres to 67.32 metres although the storey count remains unchanged, while the number of parking spaces has increased from 16 to 22.
The proposal retains the 4-storey, 1879-built heritage building at 187 King Street East, known as the Little York Inn. While the main building was designated heritage in the 1970s, the original stable building built next door only joined the heritage register in 2020. As a result, the new design also saves the single-storey brick facade at 65 George Street by incorporating it into the 17-storey residential building in a plan by heritage specialists ERA Architects..
The existing commercial/office uses located within 187 King Street East are proposed to be maintained, while the 16 floors proposed above the ground floor will each comprise one 2-bedroom plus den residential unit, all but one containing a private outdoor terrace or balcony.
The ground floor is proposed to comprise of a new pedestrian entrance through the heritage archway, which connects with a relocated vestibule and pedestrian lobby, and is shared with the vehicular entrance to a parking elevator. A 55.5m² amenity/meeting room is proposed on the mezzanine level, which is linked with the ground floor lobby.
More information on the development will come soon, but in the meantime, you can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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| Related Companies: | Arcadis, Core Architects, Ferris + Associates Inc., LEA Consulting, SKYGRiD, WND Associates Ltd |
